Wednesday 31 October 2007

How does it sound ?? - Hearing loss.... and CI

For people that hear normally, imagining hearing loss is difficult.

For those who want to get a glimpse, here's a link to the website of Phonak with some excellent examples of how things, environment, music sounds with and without hearing loss.... (See image below)



I have been on a site where one could listen to "how a CI sounds" depending on the number of electrodes and the insertion-depth of the CI-electrode...
Will see if I can fin that site again. It gives an impression of the quality, but on the other hand, it cannot account for the brain to do it's job. (Found it - here for Adults, here for children !
Be aware.. the research is almost 10 years old.... technology moved forward.. Found another one on a PBS webside with Alan Alda here ..... from 2005.... nice!)

People that have heard but became deaf, before explain that at first the sound with CI to be metallic-like, but the brain is quick to adjust it to "normal" sound - as it was before. I recall a man that recognised his wifes voice again after 5 years of deafness. The brain is a wonderful organ!

Anyway... "enjoy" these soundfiles!

For the researchers under us... this research (pdf) might be of interest....

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I understand the curiosity to hear what sound sounds like when coming through a CI - but as you said yourself: the brain adjusts quickly to percieve the sound as 'normal'. So, listening to an approximation of what CI sound like, will probably sound utterly strange and metallic to us with normal hearing. ...but to CI-users - and I suppose especially so for children - the sound is normal, and to mee it doesn't make much sense to say 'this is what it sounds like'.

Cloggy said...

I agree.
When I ask Lotte to repeat a word, she will repeat it without problems. So, with that in mind, she hears fine. How it sounds does not matter.
I don't even know if what I hear, is the same as someone else hears..... We all have our own "sound-identity" I guess..

I do like the hoh-examples. It really gives a feeling how much is missed by Lotte. I mean, her hearing was worse than the worst example provided.... gave a nice insight..

(Some) Milestones

  • 2013-08: Grade 6
  • 2012-08: Grade 5
  • 2011-08: Grade 4
  • 2011-03: BTE's on the ear
  • 2010-08: Grade 3
  • 2009-08: Grade 2
  • 2008-08: Mainstream School (6y. old)
  • 2006-10: All-hearing Kindergarten (4y. old)
  • 2004-11-22: CI activated (27 m. old)
  • 2004-10-04: Bi-lateral CI (26 m. old)
  • 2003-08: Deaf/HOH/CI Pre-school/"DEAF" Kindergarten (12m. old)
  • 2003-07: HA's fitted (11 m. old)
  • 2003-06: Diagnosed deaf. Start sign-language (10m. old)
  • 2002-11: Suspicion loss of hearing (4 m. old)
  • 2002-08: Born - A fierce LION
--- Google Analytics